CLASS XXII. ORDER IV. | HUMULUS. 1283 
esteemed is as great as was the prejudice against their introduction, 
for Walter Blith, in his “ Improver Improved,” published in 1649 and 
1653, says, “that it was not many years since the famous city of 
London petitioned the Parliament of England against two nuisances ; 
and these were Newcastle coals, in regard to their stench, &e., and 
hops, in regard they would spoyl the taste of drink, and endanger the 
people.” The female plant is alone cultivated for its fruit, and of 
these there are several varieties grown under the name of Flemish, 
Canterbury, Goldings, &c., which are more or less valuable according 
to the soil in which they are grown. The formation of Hop plan- 
tations involves a considerable outlay, from the necessity there is in 
having the ground deeply trenched and well prepared with manure, 
and fining the soil, and it is three years before the plants come to a 
state of profitable bearing. The cuttings are planted in rows about 
- six feet apart, in circular clusters of about seven, and are supported 
upon poles about fourteen feet long. 
The fruit is known to be ripe when it assumes a brownish colour, 
and of a firmer consistence; the plants are then cut down about three 
feet from the ground, and the Hops carefully picked from the leaves 
and stalks, and are immediately dried in kilns, heated with charcoal ; 
if not, they are very liable to lose both in colour and flavour, by being 
together while containing moisture, After they are sufficiently dry, 
and become somewhat crisp, it is found that five pounds of the fresh 
Hops are diminished to about one. They are then closely packed in 
canvas bags, called pockets, each weighing about one and a quarter 
hundred-weight, and in this state are brought to market. 
Of all the crops grown in England the Hop is the most liable to 
variation : in what is considered a good season an acre of ground will 
produce about twenty-hundred weight, but in a bad season often not 
more than two or three; and the quality of the Hop also varies con- 
siderably with the season: when they are of a fine bright yellow 
colour, and abound with an unctuous clammy powder, they are con- 
sidered the best. 
The Hop is very liable to diseases, as honey dew, mould, fire blast, 
and other blights, and it suffers considerably at different periods 
from the depredation of insects. 
The Hop is chiefly used for the preservation of beer, and giving it a 
degree of aroma and bitterness. In medicine it is esteemed as a 
tonic, combined with a sedative principle, and has been found of 
great use in the form of extract or tincture in giving tone to the 
stomach, and allaying nausea and flatulency after taking food in 
some forms of debility, especially after the use of irritating aperients, 
&e. A pillow of hops is said to be useful in procuring sleep in mania 
or delirium in fevers, but it is seldom used. Aministered in the 
form of extract, tincture, powder, or infusion, and used as a fomenta- 
tion, it has been found to give relief in painful swellings and tumours : 
8c 
